Question about consecrated virgins

[Dymphna]

This is just out of interest: I know two of consecrated virgins who call themselves "Sister" (followed by their first name). They also both wear a (different) dress which looks like a habit.

But I keep on reading that a consecrated virgin is NOT called a "sister", because her vocation is different from a member of a religious order. And my instinct is, to be a sister you need to have siblings, you need to have women who are your sisters. It's not a title indicating that someone is living a strongly religious life, but that she's a member of a religious community. My instinct concerning the "habit" is similar.

Is this just a local thing here (somewhere in Europe), or is it common in other countries, eg. the US, as well? And if so, I'm curious about the reasoning behind it!

[SicutColumba]

I am no expert, I think @Sponsa-Christi might be able to clarify things but I’m pretty sure that to wear a habit and be called sister you need to be a part of a community and have taken vows (or be a novice in that community). Maybe these women have received special permission from their bishop to dress like sisters. 

[Sponsa-Christi]

Ok, so here's my thought on this: the Church doesn't generally envision special dress resembling a habit as the normal custom for CVs, but I think ultimately the Church leaves it up to the discretion of the local diocesan bishop. 

The relevant citation for this is from the 2018 Instruction Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago, in paragraph 38: 

Quote

 

Desirous of irradiating the dignity and beauty of their vocation with a relational style towards the people of their own time, their way of dressing follows the local customs, combining dignity and the expression of their own personality with the virtue of moderation, in accordance with the requirements of their social situation.

Except for special reasons, they wear the ring that is given to them during the rite of consecration as a sign of their spousal covenant with Christ the Lord.

In places where married Christian women do not customarily cover their head with a veil, normally consecrated virgins do not wear the veil that they may have received during the rite of consecration as an ordinary part of their clothing. They follow the guidelines of the diocesan Bishop or the Episcopal Conference, who can allow the use of the veil in liturgical celebrations, or in other situations where the use of this visible sign of total dedication to the service of Christ and the Church is considered appropriate, considering different contexts and developments in socio-cultural conditions.

 

I think the "other situations" where the wearing of the veil might be considered appropriate is wide enough to admit an interpretation where, for example, a bishop wanted his local CVs to wear a veil whenever they were engaged in apostolic activity. 

There are also a few countries where CVs do wear a veil full-time and have a sort of uniform dress. But I think in these places, it's generally considered less socially acceptable for a woman to remain unmarried apart from a religious community, so there are legitimate pastoral reasons for the bishops deciding to "borrow" from religious life this way. 

I do not live in one of these countries, and so I wear normal cloths. But I dress in a very modest and simple way, so often people meeting me for the first time guess that I am something like a nun. But I think this kind of notable simplicity is very appropriate for CVs across the board. 

Re. using the title "Sister," the Church also hasn't commented on this explicitly, so I believe it would also be up to the discretion of the local bishops. I personally don't think there's any intrinsic problem with the use of some sort of title for CVs, since this is a public state of consecrated life. But, I wouldn't go around calling myself "Sister" in places where this wasn't already the local custom, because it's also important not to confuse people. 

So the tl:dr answer is: no, normally CVs do not wear special clothes or go by "Sister," but at the same time these things aren't absolutely forbidden and it all depends on the prudential pastoral decision of the local bishop.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Sponsa-Christi

[gloriana35]

As far as I know, Sponsa Christi is the only consecrated virgin on this forum, and I'm glad she responded. I don't know that I am acquainted with any.

However - I'd say 'leave people alone.' If wearing a form of religious garb, and using a title, makes the consecrated virgins you know more accessible to others, or is (most importantly) giving an eschatological witness of consecrated life, these are blessings. It is not only bishops who make such determinations - it well may be what someone has experienced in her own life.

The eschatological witness of vowed life could truly enrich the world. Today, it seems all one hears of are associates, tertiaries, et al - involved in apostolic works, but not vowed to the evangelical counsels. (Religious communities I knew well, who were large forty or fifty years ago, mostly have died out.) 

[Antigonos]

In many countries, medical nurses are normally known as "Sister", and are called, in a group, "nursing sisters" to differentiate them from religious sisters or siblings.

Of course, that derives from the original women who worked with the sick, who were in religious life.  I am sometimes amused by the old British usage of "Matron" for Head Nurse, as most of the "Matrons" I've known weren't even married, let alone motherly!

[Dymphna]

Thank you for your replies! I'm confident the CVs I'm talking about are acting in agreement with their bishop(s). Also, the instruction quoted by Sponsa-Christi (thanks!) is very recent, they certainly decided about their dress years before it was written. The text is pretty much what I thought about CVs, but I guess it can't be uniformly applied by women who are known as "sister" with their "habit" since years, that would cause even more confusion.